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Noahs Ark Debunked


The Man

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Please read in full length.

Boat building is a very difficult and a skilled discipline. The Bible does not say if Noah had any profession, or indeed if he had any previous experience at boat building, but let us assume for sake of argument that he was fully proficient. Building a boat of that size on his own would have been quite a task. Let us assume that his children also helped too, reducing the time by a factor of four. Sadly the Bible doesn't tell us how long it took to build the Ark, but we could at least estimate it. Bear in mind that Noah would not have had access to any sort of advanced tools, probably not even a saw.

Now this boat has to be strong enough to hold elephants and the like. Let's estimate how much wood this would take. Well the boat was 450 feet long. Let's assume an average tree is 30 feet tall and three feet thick. That means that, just to build the outside of the boat we would require over two hundred tree trunks. That's assuming they just use the tree trunks without splitting them - remember we're dealing with elephants here so the wood needs to be pretty strong. Now Noah didn't have modern tools, so we could probably say that it would take him the best part of a day to chop down a tree, chop off all the side branches, neaten it up and carry it back to the Ark. That means he's spent two thirds of a year just chopping down trees. That's ignoring the fact that moving all that wood a significant distance is going to become prohibitively difficult. Trees weigh an awful lot,

Finally, the largest wooden ship ever built was the U.S.S. Wyoming, built in the first decade of the twentiath century with modern shipbuilding methods. It was more than 100 feet shorter than Noah's ark is claimed to have been. This ship represented a tremendous feat of engineering, and posed several substantial construction problems. Most notably, it required large iron strapping for support, just to hold the boat together. There is no possible way Noah could have built a boat 450 feet long which held together under its own weight, let alone also carried hundreds of thousands of animals, and floated on the tempestuous seas of the Biblical flood! Plus not to mention he would have had to use over 3 million nails, this means he would not only have to pound them in himself but he would also have to smelt them to this would have took him at least 14 years to do by himself!!!

Creationists deny evolution. So this means that the two of every kind of animal must have meant not just two of every single species, but two of every single sub-species. This sounds like a ridiculous number of animals, but let's investigate it. This site <http://www.tesri.gov.tw/content4/zool-e7.htm> tells us that just in the country of Taiwan there are probably at least 45,000 insect species, over 17,000 of which have so far been categorised and named. This is taking a significant number of resources and uses trained professionals. How could Noah have expected to do that with just the help of his wife and three sons? This site <http://www.si.edu/resource/faq/nmnh/buginfo/bugnos.htm> tells us that there are some 900,000 different insect species known in the world as a whole. Now that is a mammoth task. Even if the insects collaborated nicely and turned up in their pairs then Noah would still have the task of storing all of these creatures in their pairs into the Ark. And then he would have to remember to feed them all every day, remembering exactly what each one eats. In a day of 24 hours, assuming that he didn't sleep, that would give him fractionally under a tenth of a second to feed each insect.

Assuming that Noah could cage and dispatch one insect pair in ten seconds, how long would he have to spend in order to collect together all of the insects? Well over three months, and that's assuming that he knew exactly what each type of insect was, what they ate, how to store them, what conditions they required etc.

What about animals who lived a long distance away? Assuming that Noah lived somewhere in what we now call the middle east, what happened to those animals that came from Australia? How did they get across the Pacific or Indian ocean? What about the animals that live only in South America? What about the animals that live only in the Antarctic? We're talking of an enormous, global planned migration, over many thousands of miles through inpassable terrain. It simply could not have happened.

How much space would the 900,000 known species of insect require? Let's assume we can put them all in tiny cages measuring two inches on each side for each pair. This is assuming we don't have any insects that eat each other. So what volume would these cages take up? 113 cubic metres. That's approximately three thousand cubic feet. That's a large volume, and that's assuming that there is no breathing space between each cage. Remember of course that these cages needed to be built by somebody, too. If we can make one cage in a minute, we're going to require almost two years to make all of those cages, assuming we don't get any sleep at all!

And what about the larger animals? Let's start off with the large mammals, such as elephants. These come in two varieties, - African and Indian - that's 16 tonnes already. Next we can add the rhinoceros (5 species, 2 of each = 10 tonnes), hippopotamus (3 tonnes), that's almost 30 tonnes just in these three animal types. That's like the weight of a large lorry, fully laden. That's a fully laden lorry running around inside your flimsily built wooden boat. And we've only just started. Add in the rest of the animal species and you soon see how the weight is mounting up. And that's just large mammals.

How much food would be required?

Of course, a fair amount of the Ark will also be taken up by food and water. But just how much?

What about the mammals? The larger creatures would need significantly more food. This site <http://www.phoenixzoo.org/zoo/animals/facts/elephasia.asp> tells us that the asian elephant requires approximately 400lbs (180kg) of food and 40 gallons (90 litres) of water every day. Multiply that by 190 days and you end up with a supply of almost 140 tonnes of food just for the elephants, plus 70 tonnes of water. This is assuming that they eat dry food, which they do not. Storing any kind of greenery for 190 days without any sort of refrigeration device is practically impossible. Of course, the water is another problem. How could you possibly store enough fresh water for all these animals? Remember that the flood water covered the entire Earth, and according to my calculations was approximately 5 times more voluminous than the sea water. That means that the water would still be approximately 1/6th as saline as sea water even at the best, and when the waters were beneath their maximum levels it must have been far stronger. Mammals simply cannot exist on that level of salinity. That means that you need to store enough fresh water not just for Noah and his family, but also for all the animals on board. Large volumes of water (and we're talking 70 tonnes just for the elephants) would have made the Ark extremely unstable to oscillations in the ocean, and would likely have capsised it extremely quickly. We would also need somewhere strong and watertight in which to store it.

Finally, and this is probably one of the strongest examples, we have also to remember that a large amount of life on Earth is carnivorous. What did the carnivores eat? There are three solutions. Firstly, Noah could have fed them on some kind of meat substitute. Now this seems unlikely - I certainly can't think of any substitute available at the time and the Bible mentions nothing about this. Alternatively he could have fed them on vegetables, but carnivorous animals such as lions would not be able to digest vegetable matter properly and would have died of malnutrition. Secondly, Noah could have stored all that meat from the beginning of the voyage. However he had no way of keeping it fresh, so I don't see how he could have done that. Finally, we must be forced to conclude that he carried on extra animals with which to feed the carnivores.

According to this site <http://www.lionresearch.org/FAQ/FAQS.html>, a lion typically eats 8-9 kilos of meat per day. That's 17 kilos of meat to satisfy our two lions, multiplied by 190 days gives us 3230 tonnes of meat. This translates to approximately 8 cows. Now let's add up the requirements for all the carnivores, starting with tigers and pumas, moving through leopards and cheetahs. We're getting quite a sizeable herd already. Now add on their food and water.

Here's a list of what Dallas zoo has to purchase in order to feed all its animals for one single day;

A ton of hay,

350 pounds of fish,

50 pounds of meat,

100 stalks of celery,

five pounds of red onions,

100 pounds of carrots,

25 pounds of spinach,

15 pounds of kale,

10 pounds of mixed vegetables,

150 pounds of sweet potatoes,

10 heads of cabbage,

48 heads of romaine,

30 ears of corn,

four loaves of wheat bread,

24 eggs,

a pound of yogurt,

40 pounds of bananas,

eight pounds of blueberries,

170 oranges,

500 apples,

36 cantaloupes,

four papayas,

250 rodents (the variety pack),

6000 mealworms,

600 wax worms and

7500 crickets.

One thing is sure, however - Noah did not take two of every species onto the ark. It simply isn't possible, he would have had to use an instantaneous teleportion device, shrink himself and all the animals on the boat to the size of ants to fit in the boat, plus have the strength and speed of superman to lift, the food to feed them and get from destinantion to destination, and have eyes that could zoom in and out 4 dimensions to identify each species of animal. And with all that said it would still have been very hard to do.

Not to mention all the tidal waves, they would have had to deal with in a massive flood.

All and one more thing the supposedly boat on Mount Aarat was 500 feet in length, 85.3 feet wide, and 30 feet in height with only one deck.

The ark that noah built should have been 450 feet in length, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet in height with 3 decks.

Now either The two arks are not the same ark mentioned in the bible, or noah disobeyed Gods directions and God really didn't care, or simply God lied about the arks size. cool.gif

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Thats an interesting post but i fear its gonna turn into another religious debate lol as usual

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You know...I knew I was gonna like you laugh.gif

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That essay was created by belzeebul and posted by a satan worshipper. Noah ark is true, because in God everything is possible! wink2.gif

*duck for cover*

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I am actually interested to see what answers might be given from the opposite side of the field...

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...well...there it was tongue.gif And so, the long time strategy resurfaces..."ignore it, forget it, and pretend it never happened grin2.gif"

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Oh no. Somebody here is going to shoot me ("virtually" lol)

Oh man, I'm almost afraid to say it... I actually burst out laughing when I thought it...

It's so cliche... ya'll know it's coming... how can you not see it a mile away!?

I'm soooo glad ya'll ain't sittin next to me cause I can already feel the smacks on the back of my head...

I mean, geez... that's alot of math and stuff an that's alot of effort put forth there...

Ack! Crud I'm gonna say it. crying.gif

You deserve a better reply... start chuckling and shooting now...

God works in mysterious ways!

Time to duck and hide! ph34r.gif

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Found a bag a marijuana! grin2.gif

OK.. here's the answer

A long time ago the earth has only one continent, everything was rearranged because of the flood. Therefore it was not a big problem for each pair of the animal to walk accross the terrain to reach Noah's Ark (don't forget that God protected them in the journey). Also no adult large animal go on board, this will reduce the weight and space requirement considerably. Finally God made all the animals to hybernate on board, therefore they require no food.

Edited by PsychicPenguin
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God works in mysterious ways!

Well, from that post, Noa must have worked in impossible ways tongue.gif

Still, I doubt we're going to get any kind of answer that isn't evasive...awesome post though Mr...uh..."The Man"...was actually a very entertaining read, even if some people are just going to ignore the facts it presented tongue.gif

Found a bag a marijuana!

It shows Mr Penguin...it shows wink2.gif...

Edited by Seraphina
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I put it down for the Hood!!!!!

I layeth the smacketh down once and for all, Can somebody give me a hell yeah!!!!

Can somebody toss me a beer so I can now relax, about religion.

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Not really...

A long time ago the earth has only one continent, everything was rearranged because of the flood.

I don't think, 10'000 years ago, or whatever it was supposed to be, the continents would still be together...they only drifted some centimeter or so every hundred years.

Therefore it was not a big problem for each pair of the animal to walk across the terrain to reach Noah's Ark

How is it then proposed he summoned them? Super strong scented musk? If he fetched them himself, that's still a vast area of land to cover...in fact, a downright impossible area of land to cover, especially if he was working with a limited time frame, and expected to come away with a male and female of every species.

Also no adult large animal go on board, this will reduce the weight and space requirement considerably.
We're still talking into the tens of thousands of tons...

Finally God made all the animals to hibernate on board, therefore they require no food.

Such a lengthy hibernation would result in debilitating damage to the animal's muscles, and so long without food would likely kill them whether they were asleep or not; even if we're to assume they survived, waking up after 190 days in hibernation would leave them ravenously hungry...he'd still need hundreds of tons worth of food to keep them alive at the end of the voyage.

Several animals are also physically incapable of hibernation.

*notices the full title for the first time*

Kurt Angle fan! Kurt Angle fan! I love this guy grin2.gifgrin2.gifgrin2.gif

Edited by Seraphina
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And if you read the last paragraph that I wrote, you cannot use The ark on mount aarat for your proof.

I debunked it to. cool.gif

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I don't think, 10'000 years ago, or whatever it was supposed to be, the continents would still be together...they only drifted some centimeter or so every hundred years.

Your idea about geology is wrong. Our current geographical configuration is due to the flood, not drifting continents.

How is it then proposed he summoned them?

Noah didn't summon them. They came to Noah. God directed them.

We're still talking into the tens of thousands of tons...

Are you sure? Do you have calculations to back it up? Also creationists believe in microevolution, therefore only a pair out of "one kind of animal" is required.

Such a lengthy hibernation would result in debilitating damage to the animal's muscles, and so long without food would likely kill them whether they were asleep or not;

You didn't take God's miracle into account.

he'd still need hundreds of tons worth of food to keep them alive at the end of the voyage.

God provided all the food after the voyage, just like what He did in the exodus.

Several animals are also physically incapable of hibernation.

But not a whole lot of them. Noah's task is much easier now.

Heck.. why am i doing this?? Nxt2Hvn, Kellalor, Celumnaz, Xeno,... lama sabakhtani??

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Yes, Mr Penguin, you're right...I forgot to factor in the most evasive answer of them all "the ark was able to defy the laws of physics, space and time, because God said so"...the time honored way to dodge physical evidence tongue.gif

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I am here Psychicpenguin.....

And of course agree with everything you say!!! thumbsup.gif

Such a lengthy hibernation would result in debilitating damage to the animal's muscles, and so long without food would likely kill them whether they were asleep or not;

You didn't take God's miracle into account.

She doesn't believe in God.... so there for she doesn't believe in or understand why we believe in Miracles.

That is what all of the topics on God, Religion, Bible, Creationnism sum up to....

We believe that God is Almighty... and his Miracles don't need explaining! The fact that WE believe that these things DID happen... is enough for us... but not for the Non-Believers... they have to find proof for everything.........

Sounds exhausting to me! w00t.gifwhistling2.gif

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I said it dodged the evidence, I didn't say it proved it wrong tongue.gif

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Well then Nxt2Hvn. [Cuban Accent]You got some esplainin' to do[/Cuban Accent]

Damn, that logical mind of mine. blink.gif

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And of course agree with everything you say!!! thumbsup.gif

It doesn't happen everyday tongue.gif

*go to get some more mushrooms*

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I am here Psychicpenguin.....

And of course agree with everything you say!!! thumbsup.gif

Such a lengthy hibernation would result in debilitating damage to the animal's muscles, and so long without food would likely kill them whether they were asleep or not;

You didn't take God's miracle into account.

She doesn't believe in God.... so there for she doesn't believe in or understand why we believe in Miracles.

That is what all of the topics on God, Religion, Bible, Creationnism sum up to....

We believe that God is Almighty... and his Miracles don't need explaining! The fact that WE believe that these things DID happen... is enough for us... but not for the Non-Believers... they have to find proof for everything.........

Sounds exhausting to me! w00t.gifwhistling2.gif

Gods miracle, what miracle?

Simply put, The Christian God must have been very very bored to give all these instructions to build an ark, keep the ark from sinking, keep all the animals safe, shrink them all down to ants so they could fit inside the ark, keep the food fresh, blah blah blah I already said it all.

If God wanted to perform a true miracle then he would have just said one word and made everything change, instead of going through all of this hassel.

The bottom line is that the bible is make believe. To make you believe that your going to hell if you don't believe in it.

JESUS HAS BEEN FRAMED BY THE CREATORS OF THE BIBLE.

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